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September 11, 2025, Adrian, Michigan – The Adrian Dominican Congregation welcomed a new candidate during a prayer service at the Adrian Motherhouse September 8, 2025.

“I desire to grow in authenticity, speak my truth, share my gifts in service and prayer. I ask to walk together in community, in challenge that is mutual, caridad amistad, and to find friendships along the way,” said Elizabeth Guerrero during the Rite of Entrance into Candidacy. The rite is the first step in a formation process that could lead Elizabeth to taking her first profession of vows with the Adrian Dominican Sisters. 

As a symbol of her desire for entrance, Elizabeth knocked on the door of St. Catherine Chapel and was admitted by Sister Tarianne DeYonker, OP, Director of Candidacy. During a formal examination by Prioress Elise D. García, OP, Sister Tarianne attested to Elizabeth’s readiness to begin a year of discernment as a candidate. 

“In faithfulness you have listened to God’s call and have responded with a ‘yes’ to continue with us in a relationship of mutual discernment for vowed membership,” Sister Elise said to Elizabeth. “We welcome you into our midst to share faith and life in the mission of Jesus.” After accepting a copy of the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ Mission Statement from Sister Elise, Elizabeth joined the assembled Sisters in proclaiming the Mission Statement.

Elizabeth will spend her candidacy year volunteering at the St. Mary Food Pantry and Dire Needs program of Holy Family Parish in Adrian, tutoring at the Adrian Rea Literacy Center, helping set up new art displays for the art gallery in Madden Hall at the Motherhouse, visiting Sisters living at the Dominican Life Center, and studying Spanish and the history of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.

The fifth of the six children of Jesus L. and Élida C. Guerrero, Elizabeth was raised in Crystal City, Texas. There, she attended school during the school year and, in the summers, was a migrant worker with her family, working on farms in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Indiana. She attended junior college and transferred to Minnesota State University in Moorhead, where she studied commercial art.

Elizabeth began her career working at a small boutique publishing agency; an advertising agency in San Antonio, Texas; as a freelance graphic designer and publisher; and for a small newspaper in her hometown. 

Eventually, that work “wasn’t fulfilling anymore,” Elizabeth said. “I was looking for something more.” She entered the Missionary Catechists of Divine Providence, a small congregation based in San Antonio. She was received into the novitiate in 2011 and made her first profession of vows in 2012. Her ministries included teaching, social services, and parish ministry.

Desiring a different expression of community life, Elizabeth left the Missionary Catechists and sought another congregation of Catholic Sisters. She visited several congregations before discerning her call to enter the Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Shortly before entering, Elizabeth completed her ministry as a lay woman as Executive Director of the Asociación de Hermanas Latinas Misioneras en América (AHLMA), a national organization, primarily for Sisters coming from Latin America and missioned to the United States. The organization is now open to U.S.-born Latinas and to U.S. Sisters who find themselves the only women of color in their community, Elizabeth said. As a representative of AHLMA, Elizabeth served on the Board of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), nominated by leaders from several congregations, including the Adrian Dominican Sisters, she said. She was involved in administration, but particularly enjoyed developing programs and meeting Sisters.

“I am very happy to be here with the Adrian Dominican Sisters,” Elizabeth said. “The welcome and reception have been warm and inviting, affirming that my gifts and presence matter. I see this community as a place where I can continue to grow in authenticity, service, and faith.”   
 

Caption for above feature photo: Prioress Elise D. García, OP, right, formally examines Elizabeth Guerrero about her intention to enter the Adrian Dominican Congregation.

By Sister Nancyann Turner, OP

August 27, 2025, Detroit – Current and former students and volunteers, families, friars, and staff members gathered on August 16, 2025, for a spirited celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Rosa Parks Children and Youth Program of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen in Detroit. They also honored Sister Nancyann Turner, OP, who created the program and directed it for more than 20 years. 

Michelle Anderson, Director of the Rosa Parks Children and Youth Program, and Brother Gary Wegner, OSF Cap., who directs all aspects of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, welcomed the participants and offered remarks.

The Rosa Parks Children and Youth Program, open from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays, offers young people creative alternatives to violence through after-school tutoring, art therapy for children ages 6 to 15, a large lending library, seasonal family activities such as baking Christmas cookies, a youth leadership program for teenagers, and a three-week summer peace camp.

Sister Nancyann reviewed the history and the various groups responsible for building and sustaining the multifaceted program for Detroit’s east side children and teens. She mentioned how much she had been changed and nurtured during her 23 years with the program.

“My prayer, my spirituality, and my sense of mission have been so inspired, stretched, nurtured, and blessed by my relationships with the many families, staff, and volunteers with whom I journeyed,” Sister Nancyann said. “I learned to lament. I learned to bless. I learned to accompany. I learned to give thanks for joy. My family became your family, your family became mine, and your presence in my life is still very sacred.”

Sister Nancyann concluded her remarks with a plea to keep children and youth as a top priority. “What our children think, what they create, what they feel, and what they love will create the future for generations to come,” she said. “Our children need villages; our children need to flourish, not just exist or survive.” She reminded those assembled, “Forever, you are part of this beloved community.”

The evening continued with dinner. The children of the Rosa Parks Peace Garden concluded the evening with a blessing and the presentation of a huge bouquet to Sister Nancyann.

Sister Suzanne Schreiber, OP, a long-time volunteer with the children’s program, accompanied Sister Nancyann at the event. Other Adrian Dominican Sisters who volunteered for tutoring or art at the Rosa Parks program included Sisters Katherine Frazier, OP, Mary Lou Putrow, OP, and Kathleen Voss, OP, and the late Sisters Pauline Oplinger, OP, Marie Solanus Reilly, OP, and Kathleen “Kay” Watt, OP. Numerous Mission Groups of Sisters and Associates made contributions and offered support throughout the years. 

Sister Suzanne said that the celebration was “a real testimony to community building” and to Sister Nancyann’s efforts through the years to save lives. “I was so happy to be there and to witness the love and care that Beloved Community has for [her]” and to see the familiar faces of volunteers, former students, and mothers, she said. 
 

Caption for above feature photo: Friends and participants of the Rosa Parks Children and Youth Program gather for its 25th anniversary celebration. 
Photo by Tim Hinkle, Capuchin Development Office, used with permission